Radiocarbon (14C) Dating of Early Islamic Documents: Background and Prospects (original) (raw)
Related papers
Qurʾān Quotations Preserved on Papyrus Documents, 7th-10th Centuries, 2019
zusammen mit T. J. Jocham. S. 188–221. Ed. Andreas Kaplony/Michael Marx. "According to 14C measurements, the four Qurʾān fragments University Library Tübingen Ma VI 165, Berlin State Library We. II 1913 and ms. or. fol. 4313, and University Library Leiden Cod. or. 14.545 b/c are older than had been presumed due to their paleographical characteristics. Within the framework of the joint German-French project Coranica, Qurʾān manuscripts and other texts of Late Antiquity (Syriac Bible manuscripts, Georgian manuscripts, dated Arabic papyri, etc.) have been dated for comparison and turn out to be reliable according to dating by 14C measurement. This article emphasizes the importance of combining 14C measurements with paleographical characteristics and orthography when dating Qurʾān fragments. The archaic spelling that appears within the four fragments (e.g., of the words Dāwūd, ḏū, oršayʾ) demonstrates that Arabic orthography in the text of the Qurʾān was still developing duringthe 7th and 8th centuries. The fact that the long vowel /ā/ was—in the earlymanuscripts—spelled usingwāworyāʾ in the middle of a word, rarely using alif whose original phonetic value is the glottal stop (hamza), led to spellings that are now obsolete. Alongside orthographic and paleographical questions, the large number of fragments in Ḥiǧāzī spelling urges us to reconsider the role that written transmission plays within the textual history of the Qurʾān."
Journal of Iranian National Museum, 2021
This paper presents the carbon dating results of seven Qurʾān manuscripts and one Syriac Bible (Peshitta) of the National Museum of Iran (NMI) in the context of palaeography of early Qurʾān manuscripts. The carbon age measurements, for the first time obtained from a collection in the Eastern lands of Islam, include results from one manuscript in script style kūfī B, one in kūfī C, and five in kūfī D. Measurements from carbon analysis of the Qurʾāns of the National Museum confirm the relative chronology of script styles in Qurʾānic palaeography. Obtained measurements from the Qurʾāns of NMI, however, give evidence for an early dating of kūfī D script styles. For the intricate question of date, carbon dating provides essential anchor points in chronology, beneficial for a historical understanding of Qurʾāns specifically and manuscripts in general, as the carbon date results of the Syriac Bible of NMI show. Scientific dating is recommended for producing comprehensive catalogues of manuscript collections as it reveals a new perception of Qurʾānic palaeography where chronology remains unexplored.
Journal of Iran National Museum, 2021
"This paper presents the carbon dating results of seven Qurʾān manuscripts and one Syriac Bible (Peshitta) of the National Museum of Iran (NMI) in the context of palaeography of early Qurʾān manuscripts. The carbon age measurements, for the first time obtained from a collection in the Eastern lands of Islam, include results from one manuscript in script style kūfī B, one in kūfī C, and five in kūfī D. Measurements from carbon analysis of the Qurʾāns of the National Museum confirm the relative chronology of script styles in Qurʾānic palaeography. Obtained measurements from the Qurʾāns of NMI, however, give evidence for an early dating of kūfī D script styles. For the intricate question of date, carbon dating provides essential anchor points in chronology, beneficial for a historical understanding of Qurʾāns specifically and manuscripts in general, as the carbon date results of the Syriac Bible of NMI show. Scientific dating is recommended for producing comprehensive catalogues of manuscript collections as it reveals a new perception of Qurʾānic palaeography where chronology remains unexplored."
Researching Quran manuscripts with scientific methods
Medieval Summer School Berlin: From Diplomatics to Genetics Old and new fundamental research methods in medieval studies, 27 September – 1 October , 2021
Carbon analysis is an established scientific technique for the dating of writing surfaces like parchment, paper, papyrus etc. Examples from Western and Middle Eastern history will be presented. The module will also report how it has developed during the last decades. The Quran project of BBAW Corpus Coranicum has carried out the first systematic scientific dating campaign for early Qurans (Berlin Staatsbibliothek. Leiden University Library, Tübingen University Library, and others), and is continuing to explore this field. First results will be presented in the module. We will present in the module the dating of manuscripts of Iranian collections that has been carried out in the project Irankoran (A. Aghaei). Especially the use of carbon dating for the problems pf palaeography and the identification of fakes will be discussed.
Radiocarbon Dating Of Manuscripts Kept in the Central Library of the University of Tehran
Radiocarbon, 2023
This article discusses radiocarbon dating results of documents preserved at the Central Library of the University of Tehran (hereafter, CLUT) as part of the project "Irankoran." The paper adds new evidence to an ongoing campaign of dating Qurʾāns and Oriental manuscripts by the Corpus Coranicum Project. The dated manuscripts include one kūfī fragment of the Qurʾān on parchment (no. 10950) and a selection of Islamic and Persian manuscripts, all from the second millennium: the Arabic dictionary Muǧmal al-Luġah (Meškāt no. 203), the medical encyclopedia Ḏaḫīrah-ye Kh w ārazmšāhī (no. 5156), the epic Panǧ Ganǧ of Neẓāmī (no. 5179), the book of wisdom Ādāb al-Falāsifah (no. 2165) attributed to Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq (d. 873 CE), and one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Avesta Wīdēwdād (no. 11263). Although the authenticity of their colophons is disputed, radiocarbon dating supports the dates of the colophons; even in cases where they were suspected of being tampered with, they most likely present the accurate original dates of the corresponding manuscripts. Only in the case of Ādāb al-Falāsifah (no. 2165), radiocarbon dating of the parchment has identified the manuscript as nonauthentic. Inconsistent carbon dating results of two samples taken from Ḏaḫīrah-ye Khwārazmšāhī (no. 5156) and Panǧ Ganǧ (no. 5179) provide evidence of later replaced/added leaves.
24th Radiocarbon Conference, 12-16 September 2022, 2022
This talk presents carbon dating results of manuscripts kept by the Central Library of the University of Tehran carried out in my project “Irankoran” in 2019. Analysed manuscripts include (1) the Arabic dictionary Muǧmal al-Luġah of Ibn Fāris (d. 1004CE), (2) the Encyclopaedia of Medicine Ḏaḫīra-ye Khwārazmšāhī of al-Ǧurǧānī (d. 1137CE), (3) the epos Panǧ Ganǧ of Neẓāmī (d. 1209CE), (4) a collection of aphorisms, Ādāb al-Falāsifah, attributed to Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq (d. 873CE) and (5) one of the oldest extant copies of the (Zoroastrian) Avesta Wīdēwdād (dated to 1607CE). As dates of these documents are disputed among scholars, carbon dating provides evidence to understand their history from a new perspective, independent from philology. Carbon age results in the case of the five documents show that dates of scribal notes (colophons) present accurate dates for their production. In the case of Ḏaḫīra-ye Khwārazmšāhī, samples were taken from two different pages with dramatically different results: 870,20BP (corresponding the scribal note) against 163,20BP. Triggered by these conflicting results, a study of script styles and linguistic features has found indicators that the text of the page in question is not authentic, confirming obtained carbon dating measurements. Probably, this page was produced and added during the 19th century to replace a damaged page of Ḏaḫīra-ye Khwārazmšāhī. For all five cases presented in the talk, the correlation of scientific evidence and philological features is discussed. In conclusion an outlook is given how this first mesuring campaign in Iranian collections can be developed.
Radiocarbon dating of manuscripts kept in the Central Library of Tehran
Radiocarbon, 2023
This article discusses radiocarbon dating results of documents preserved at the Central Library of the University of Tehran (hereafter, CLUT) as part of the project "Irankoran." The paper adds new evidence to an ongoing campaign of dating Qurʾāns and Oriental manuscripts by the Corpus Coranicum Project. The dated manuscripts include one kūfī fragment of the Qurʾān on parchment (no. 10950) and a selection of Islamic and Persian manuscripts, all from the second millennium: the Arabic dictionary Muǧmal al-Luġah (Meškāt no. 203), the medical encyclopedia Ḏaḫīrah-ye Kh w ārazmšāhī (no. 5156), the epic Panǧ Ganǧ of Neẓāmī (no. 5179), the book of wisdom Ādāb al-Falāsifah (no. 2165) attributed to Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq (d. 873 CE), and one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Avesta Wīdēwdād (no. 11263). Although the authenticity of their colophons is disputed, radiocarbon dating supports the dates of the colophons; even in cases where they were suspected of being tampered with, they most likely present the accurate original dates of the corresponding manuscripts. Only in the case of Ādāb al-Falāsifah (no. 2165), radiocarbon dating of the parchment has identified the manuscript as nonauthentic. Inconsistent carbon dating results of two samples taken from Ḏaḫīrah-ye Khwārazmšāhī (no. 5156) and Panǧ Ganǧ (no. 5179) provide evidence of later replaced/added leaves.
A Very Old Malay Islamic Manuscript: Carbon Dating and Further Analysis of a Persian-Malay Anthology
Indonesia and the Malay World, 2022
This work provides a carbon dating report of Or.7056 kept at Leiden University Library, a Persian anthology of poems with Malay interlinear translations found in Aceh. The common point raised in all former studies of this manuscript deals with its antiquity, which has the potential to increase our knowledge about Malay classical orthography, Malay familiarity with the Persian language and literary sources, and development of interlinear translations in the Malay Archipelago. Here, further textual and literary analysis will be discussed, including a rare and obsolete term, kutaha.